


Heart to Heart and Eye to Eye

by AllMyFriendsCallMeSatan



Category: Naruto
Genre: BAMF Dai-nana-han | Team 7 (Naruto), BAMF Haruno Sakura, BAMF Uchiha Sasuke, BAMF Uzumaki Naruto, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Hurt/Comfort, I Pretend To Know About Seals, M/M, Multi, My First Fanfic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Team Dynamics, Team as Family, just some cuddles for the soul, move over ino-shika-cho, naru-sasu-saku has come to steal your job, no romance until the children are all grown up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-23 18:24:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15612258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllMyFriendsCallMeSatan/pseuds/AllMyFriendsCallMeSatan
Summary: Naruto had never been the best at studying. Or learning… or paying attention to anything school related really. He never knew the cause for this or why he was the only one to suffer like he did. Sure, Kiba could get rowdy when he wasn’t supposed to, but he still got average marks. He didn’t just barely pass. The boy figured it would be like that all his life, and he accepted that. There just seemed to be no way around this flaw.That is, until he had his first fuuinjutsu unit.(Or Iruka talks about a little too much during a fuuinjutsu lesson)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Naruto gets a new friend.

Naruto had never been the best at studying. Or learning… or paying attention to anything school related really. He never knew the cause for this or why he was the only one to suffer like he did. Sure, Kiba could get rowdy when he wasn’t supposed to, but he still got average marks. He didn’t _just barely_ pass. The boy figured it would be like that all his life, and he accepted that. There just seemed to be no way around this flaw.

 

That is, until he had his first fuuinjutsu unit.

 

He had expected to find it boring. They were just seals, after all! What could possibly make them interesting. That mindset changed when Iruka began explaining the uses of fuuinjutsu. It was still much easier to stare out the window and watch the squirrels chase each other outside and- wait. What did Iruka-sensei just say?

 

Tuning his ear back into the teacher’s words Naruto realized he was explaining some of the history behind fuuinjutsu. Even Sakura-chan seemed bored! Then the word that caught the boy’s ear was spoken again. “Uzu-nin were taught to be masters in the sealing arts. They taught it in academies as we teach henges and bunshins.” Iruka lectured. _Uzu_. Naruto had never heard anything else that sounded like his ‘clan name’. He hesitated at calling it that as he had never met anyone else with that bared the name.

 

Naruto noticed some of his classmates sneaking glances at him. Sakura (who was now paying very close attention) raised her hand politely, and Iruka called on the girl. “Um… Iruka-sensei, how come we’ve never been taught about Uzushiogakure in any of our other history lessons? I’ve never actually heard of it at all.” The question seemed to trigger something in Iruka as his eyes widened. Whispers erupted in the class but the Uzumaki could barely pay attention, his head spinning.

 

“A-ah, right, I’m afraid I went into more detail than i should have without even realizing. There is a very good reason that you will find out about when you all get older.” Iruka explained with a nervous smile. _Nervous? Why nervous?_ The children in the class looked skeptical but didn’t ask anymore. Well… except for Naruto. He raised his hand high and saw Iruka-sensei’s eyes stare the opposite way. He simply grimaced and continued his explanation, saying they would be given paper, ink, and pens to practice their calligraphy before they could start to paint the seals.

 

The blonde, however, just stubbornly kept his hand up. He even shook it a little. It wasn’t until he began to let out small whining noises that annoyed the people next to him that Iruka gave a small sigh and looked straight at him. “Yes, Naruto?” Iruka asked, not unkindly. The boy took an uncharacteristically nervous breath before speaking. “Ne, Iruka-sensei, would Uzushiogakure have anything to do with… uh, ya know, Uzumakis?” His teacher’s eyes filled with an odd kind of regret and said, “I'm afraid I can't answer that question, Naruto-kun, for the same reason as I told Sakura.”

 

Naruto frowned at that. “But Iruka-sensei! You didn’t give Sakura-chan a reason! You just told her we had to wait until we get older, ‘ttebayo!” Iruka wasn’t at all phased at the student’s outburst. “The same applies to your own question Naruto-kun. I don’t have permission to give you an answer to that question.” A couple of student’s eyes narrowed at the phrasing but they shook it off quickly. The usually hyperactive boy dimmed at that. He could feel eyes on his back (a familiar feeling, but these eyes didn’t exude hate and fear, some held pity or others even understanding). The rest of the class passed in an unusual blur.

 

The Uzumaki hadn’t even noticed he had the best penmanship in the class.

 

* * *

 

If one was going to try to find Uzumaki Naruto, they would first stop at Ichiraku’s. Then they might stroll the streets looking for a blurb of orange with angry civilians and shinobi alike chasing after it. If not there… well Naruto didn’t actually spend his time doing the widest variety of things.

 

The point being! The blonde was at neither of these places. He was, in fact, in the last place you may check to find him. The library.

 

Normally, Naruto wouldn't be allowed into the library even if he wanted to go, but he had snuck past trained ninjas before, he could sneak past a bored civilian. The boy grinned when he was able to do just that and he began navigating the shelves. This continued for a couple minutes before he realised he had no idea how to find what he was looking for. And the library was _really big_. He could, of course, just wander aimlessly until he found some sort of section that sounded like “Uzu” but instead his gaze landed upon a certain pink haired girl.

 

“Sakura-chan!” Naruto narrowly managed to watch his volume and the call ended up sounding more like “SAKUra-chan”, but oh well. The girl looked up confused, “Naruto?” she whispered (much quieter than Naruto had managed). “No offense, but what are you doing here? Also watch your volume unless you want to get kicked out.” She seemed to add that as an afterthought.

 

“Haha right, sorry.” He grinned sheepishly, “I’m actually here because of what Iruka-sensei was talking about in class today. I’ve never heard anyone talk about my clan or where it came from, y’know?” Sakura looked significantly less annoyed at his lowered volume and then at his reason itself. She nodded her head thoughtfully. “I do know what you mean. I’ve never heard of it either. I was actually going to see what I could find later after I read these,” she gestured at the stack of books in front of her “but… if you wanted I could help you right now?”

 

Naruto’s eyes lit up “You really mean it? I can’t ask the desk lady for where to find the books but having you help would be much better than looking around on my own!” he whisper yelled. Sakura looked troubled at his words and moved to stand up, speaking along the way. “Say, Naruto-kun, why can’t you ask the librarian for directions. It is her job, you wouldn’t be bothering her or anything.” The blonde actually looked uncomfortable at the question. “Actually most adults don’t like me talking to them. Or being near them in general. I don’t know why it’s just always been that way.”

 

If Sakura had looked troubled before she definitely sensed something was off now. Naruto’s eyes shifted away at the stare he got back. “I mean, it’s not even that bad or anything! Nothing to worry about. I’m used to it anyway.” The rosette didn’t seem convinced but let it slide anyway. “Right, in that case you can walk up to the librarian with me.” She said in a firm tone. He looked ready to argue but instead nodded.

 

Sakura grabbed Naruto’s hand and pulled him up to the desk. At the first sight of the boy next to her the old lady let out a sneer. “How did you get in here, demon brat? I thought we told you that you were _not_ welcome.” The boy in question just stood there, still holding hands with Sakura, and let out a very intelligent “Uh…”. However before the librarian could harp him any more the now steaming girl spoke. “Excuse me, miss, but I didn’t think that sort of thing was allowed without good reason. Naruto-kun may be a bit of a jokester but I can’t think of anything that could get him kicked out for life. Anyways, my _friend_ here was looking for books on Uzushio and its clan history.” Both the librarian and the boy’s eyes widened at her strong words. No one had ever called Naruto their “friend” before.

 

“Right, of course, the books on Uzushiogakure and other smaller villages are over in that section.” The librarian pointed to some shelves in the corner. No one had ever spoken back to her for how what she did to the Uzumaki boy. Hearing such confident words from the usually polite soft spoken girl she was used to seeing had startled her. Sakura gave a tight lipped smile and murmured a quiet _come on, Naruto-kun_ before walking to the shelves of books.

 

“Do all adults really-”

 

“Did you really mean it-”

 

The two spoke up at once as they entered the section. Naruto blushed “Sorry! Sorry Sakura-chan, you go first, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Normally Sakura’s polite instincts that were drilled into her would make her argue back but she was a bit worked up. “Do all adults really act like that Naruto? I understand that you play pranks but they all seem harmless enough? What did you do to warrant getting called ‘demon brat’?” Questions poured out of the concerned girl. Naruto’s eyes just widened, “Wow, um, no one's ever really cared about how the adults treat me. I’ve always been called demon even before the pranks and everything… besides the words aren’t even the worst part!”

 

She supposed that was meant to be reassuring. It wasn’t.

 

“Naruto-kun what do you mean by that?” Sakura asked, not really wanting to know he answer. “Well sometimes the men, usually civilians, will kick me and punch me and stuff. But I can protect myself and get away ‘cause I’m super cool, dattebayo!” Naruto saw nothing wrong with the fact adults hit him for no reason. _Naruto is hit by adults for no reason_. “That’s not ok! Adults shouldn’t ever hit children unless they’re sparring! Naruto you have to- mmph!” She was cut off by a hand over her mouth.

 

“Sorry Sakura-chan, you were starting to yell. I don’t want you to get kicked out because of me. I know you like reading and stuff.” Sakura gently took the hand off her mouth and sighed. She could take the hint, he didn’t want to talk about this anymore. “Right, let’s find those books then.”

 

They both were smiling

 

* * *

 

“Ugh! Sakura we’ve been reading forever. This is all really interesting and I’m finally learning about my clan but you have to do half the reading anyway ‘cause I keep asking you what words mean.” Naruto groaned, rolling around on the carpet. Sakura huffed out a laugh, “You’re rambling Naruto-kun. Also, you know I don’t mind helping with the vocabulary, this is the third time I’ve told you now. But you are right, and the library will close soon. My parents will get worried if I come home too late.”

 

They hadn’t managed to find a whole ton of books about Uzushio in the pre-genin section of the library. However, Naruto and Sakura managed to find a couple and read them together. They focused mainly on where the city had been but barely went into detail on how it fell and why. They had only managed to find out that Iwagakure and Kirigakure had attacked it during the Third Shinobi War. There was also some stuff about how Konoha and Uzushio were friends because Konoha’s Shodaime married an Uzumaki. Jonin and chunin even wore Uzushio’s symbol on their jackets out of respect!  

 

While Naruto found this all as enthralling as Sakura did, he could still only handle so much reading.

 

“Ok Sakura-chan!” The blonde said with a sunny smile and he began to pick up the books and scrolls they had pulled out. Sakura helped carry them to the front desk where she said a few hissed words to the librarian that Naruto couldn’t make out. As they walked outside the boy hesitated then asked “Hey, Sakura-chan… would you wanna meet up again sometime? It doesn't have to be at the library if you don’t want and if you’re busy it’s fine! I was just wondering ‘ttebayo.” He smiled nervously.

 

Sakura only had to think for a second before replying “Of course we can hang out! We’re friends now after all. What kind of friend would I be if I never hung out with you? In fact, how about we go get ramen tomorrow since you worked hard reading today?”

 

Naruto looked like his parents had just floated down from the heavens, lectured all of Konoha on how to treat their son, and then said villagers had given him the Hokage hat on their knees. Needless to say, it appeared the rosette had spoken some sort of magic words. The boy’s dopey smile hadn’t left his face the entire time he walked home with her, nor did she forget that smile as she said goodbye to him at her doorstep.

 

She could tell this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto gives Sakura a scare and Sasuke is his broody self as always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! There's quite a lot of angst in this chapter but I like to think I balanced it with fluff well enough. Also, updates will come out as soon as I can during the summer without burning myself out, but when school starts in September I'm probably gonna update weekly. Credit to my friend, we'll call them Polaris for anonymity, for beta-ing.

Naruto and Sakura had been meeting up nearly everyday after school. One day they might go to get ramen and the next they would hang out by the playground. There were a couple instances where civilian parents had tried to scare him off but his new friend was always there to back him up. The two got along surprisingly well, and to an outsider they just seemed like the no-good, mischievous prankster and a well-mannered studious school girl. Yet despite the odds, the young girl had managed to practically adopt Naruto by the end of two weeks.

His luck held up for these two weeks before falling on it’s ass.

They had been walking back to Sakura’s house, but going a different path than usual. The training ground they would go to practice their aim had been taken so they had been forced to find a different ground. Unfortunately, this new route home just happened to pass through the akasen. The rosette had tried to convince Naruto that she didn’t need to be walked home. “Your apartment is right in the area!” She had argued.  
  
Naruto had downright refused to let Sakura walk through the street alone. He wasn’t oblivious, he knew he didn’t live in the best part of town. He knew the sounds he heard at night through his thin walls weren’t supposed to be heard by young ears. So, yeah, no walking alone. The blonde tried to walk his friend through the streets as fast as possible, avoiding any people he managed to see, but then he was dragged into an ally.  
  
Both children let out a startled breath from the suddenness of it all. Naruto growled and shifted in front of Sakura when the man loosened his grip. “Well, well, just my luck. A little punching bag happened to pass me by.” The man sneered. He was standing still but still managing to trip on his own feet, leaning on the wall for support. His words were also slurred together but his tone was unmistakable. Naruto grew in a breath “F-fine! Do whatever with me, but don’t hurt my friend!” he shot out his arms to cover Sakura completely. His eyes were brimming with tears but he tried to put on a brave face nonetheless.  
  
Something glinted in the streetlight before all Naruto felt was pain. He cried out and tipped forwards, hands shooting up to grasp his head but his arm was grabbed. The man threw him on the ground and laughed a bit, kicking him in the ribs, before he stumbled away. Sakura moved as soon as the man left. “Naru-kun! Please, please be ok. I can’t believe he could hit you with a bottle like that! Your head got cut and everything…” She grasped at the injured boy in a panic. “It’s, it’s fine! My dad says that head wounds bleed a lot so they look worse than they are. He’s a medic, Naru-kun, so he must be right!”  
  
Naruto let out a tiny laugh at the usually cool girl’s rambling before wincing. He probably shouldn’t laugh again. “Ne, your rambling Sakura-chan.” He teased, fighting off a cough. She didn’t appreciate the joke. “You shouldn’t talk! Don’t waste your strength or anything.” She didn’t say anything else and just heaved the boy onto her back. It was far easier than it should have been, with how little he weighed. “Ok, I’m going to take you back to my house. My dad is a doctor! He can make sure you’re ok.” Naruto nodded weakly before succumbing to the black spots filling his eyes.  
  


* * *

 

Haruno Kizashi and Mebuki had relatively ordinary lives, which is why they were expecting their daughter to come through the door with a smile on her face, saying goodbye to Naruto. What they got instead was Sakura rushing through the door with said boy on her back.  
  
“Mom, dad!” she stopped to lean against the wall and huffed a bit. Naruto may have been light but she still had the stamina of a 6 year old. “Naru-kun got attacked on the walk home! He was bleeding everywhere and he isn’t answering and I don’t know what to do!” The girl rambled. Kizashi moved to take the unconscious boy from his daughter’s back. “Calm down, sweetheart. Naruto-kun will be just fine, ok? Your dad will take a look at him.” Mebuki soothed. She could see the tremor in her little girl’s legs and arms. “Come sit with me.” Sakura, now with nothing to do for Naruto, nodded weakly.  
  
Kizashi had brought Naruto to the bathroom and was grabbing bandages from the cupboard. The blonde was now blinking his eyes open. “Haruno-san? Where… wait, is Sakura-chan ok?!” The man’s face softened, “Hello, Naruto-kun. Sakura is just fine, she brought you home with her and we’re in the bathroom. She said you got attacked on the way home and got a nasty cut on your head. I think you passed out from the blood loss.” He explained slowly. He wasn’t trying to be condescending in any way, but the boy had just regained consciousness and never had been the quickest anyway. Kizashi pulled out a small penlight and flicked the light over Naruto’s eyes, murmuring an apology as the boy flinched slightly. Content that the blond didn’t have a concussion, he pulled out disinfectant and bandages.    
  
“Oh… ok, good. As long as Sakura is ok.” Naruto gave a small smile. Kizashi was both reassured and concerned by the remark. “Yes, it’s good that you protected Sakura. You must have been very brave, but your health is always important too, ok?” Now that the injured boy was much calmer Kizashi moved towards him with the bandages. Naruto blushed and nodded, then held his head out a little. “Can you see it? Do you think it’ll scar and look really cool?” Kizashi chuckled at the boy’s sudden change in mood. “You’ll look cool scars or not, Naruto-kun.”  
  
Wiping away the matted hair, the doctor began inspecting his head for any wounds. The cut he found was surprisingly small for how much blood there was, but it was rather deep. He cleaned the wound quickly and ignored the little hissing sounds that Naruto made, murmuring soft nothings to calm him. Soon enough the cut was banaged and the blonde was up and bouncing around once again.  
  
“Ne, ne, Haruno-san, where’s Sakura-chan? I wanna tell her I’m ok. She looked really worried!” Naruto said at a fascinatingly fast pace. Kizashi hummed and began walking down a hallway. It was painted a calming shade of blue-grey and was filled with framed pictures of baby Sakura and her family. The orphan felt a small sadness bubble up in the back of his head but quickly ignored it.  
  
“Naru-kun!” Sakura cried from the living room. “You’re up! Are you ok? No more bleeding, right?” As soon as he heard his friends voice Naruto ran towards it. “Sakura-chan! I’m ok, promise. Your dad patched me right up, no need to worry anymore!” He reassured quickly. The rosette jumped up and hugged him tight. “No more getting hurt for me. Next time I’m going to protect you and no one will get hurt!” She promised. Naruto gave her a bright smile and responded, “I think that’s the best idea we could ever come up with Sakura-chan.” They both laughed, still in each others arms.  
  
They would be ok.  
  


* * *

 

Sasuke didn’t want to be here. He would much rather be deep in the forest behind the Uchiha compound throwing kunai and waiting for Itachi-nii to return. Instead he was at the park surrounded by other children because “You need more friends, Sasuke-kun”. At least according to his mother. He heaved a sigh and slid down into a slouch on the bench. His mother gave him a look.  
  
“Sasuke, maybe if you looked like you wanted to be here the other kids might invite you over to play, since you seem insistent on not asking them yourself.” She said. Sasuke just huffs again, “Maybe I don't want them to invite me over. I want aniki.” he tried to say this as maturely as possible. Anyone who said he sounded like a toddler was extremely wrong. Now it was his mother's turn to sigh. “I know you want your brother sweetie, but he’s not always going to be around. He’s going to start being much busier than he was before.” The petulant boy was readying a retort when another boy’s voice called from a couple feet away. 

“Hey! Do you wanna play with us? Sakura-chan saw you were all alone, and it’s no fun to play alone so she said we should invite you to play with us!” He asked. The boy was very… bright. Bright hair, bright eyes, bright smile, Sasuke nearly squinted his eyes. The girl following close behind him had pink hair and looked far more hesitant to be approaching him. They both looked familiar but he couldn’t figure out where he had seen them.

 

“Uh, hi. Sorry, I told Naru-kun he should of ask politely but he gets excited easily. I remember seeing you in the other class at the academy, Uchiha Sasuke right?” Oh, so that's where he had seen them. The duo looked at him expectantly so he tried answering “Actually I’m waiting for someone so-”

 

“He would love to play!” His mother butt in, because of course she would. “I’ll call you when your brother comes back, promise.” She looked at him softly now and he couldn’t say no. He let himself be dragged up from the bench and pulled him to a nearby tree. The two sat down, blondie criss-cross style and pinky on her knees. “Ok! Sakura-chan says she already knows your name but I think we should do introductions anyway!” Blondie exclaimed. “I’ll start, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura-chan is my best friend, and I’m going to be Hokage dattebayo!” Naruto sure yelled a lot. Pinky smiled fondly at Naruto and spoke next, “My name is Haruno Sakura and I want to become a medic to be able to protect my friends and family when I get older. Also, Naru-kun is my best friend, if you couldn’t tell.” Sakura joked.

 

Alright, so maybe the two weren’t so bad. He finally settled down onto his knees as well and introduced himself. “My name is Uchiha Sasuke and I’m going to join Konoha’s police force just like my dad when i grow up. I guess my best friend is my aniki, his name is Itachi.” Naruto’s eyes sparkled, “The police force? That's so cool Sasuke-san! Not as cool as the Hokage of course but-” He was cut off by Sakura lightly smacking the back of his head. “Yes, Naru-kun, no one will ever be as cool as you will be.” Naruto laughed, embarrassed at his friends words, but didn’t seem worried she was actually mad at him.

 

The two suddenly seemed much more daunting. They were so close, could read each other in a look. He was just an outsider. The rosette seemed to notice his sudden hesitence and smiled at Sasuke. “Naru-kun was right though, that is really cool. In my opinion your both super cool already.” Her tone was light and friendly. “Hn” he grunted if you looked close enough you could see a light pink dusting his cheeks.

 

Naruto jumped up suddenly. “Alright! Let's play ninja! It’s real easy Sasuke-san, you’ll get it in no time.” He proclaimed pulling out rubber kunai and shuriken from a pocket. Sasuke just stared, vaguely amused. “My brother is a real ninja you know, he trains me sometimes.” He said smugly “Also you can… you can call me Sasuke-kun.” The last bit seemed to slip out without consent. The blonde gasped and turned to Sakura. “You here that Sakura-chan?! Sasuke-kun has ninja training that's not from the academy do you think he’ll teach us?” Sakura raised a pink eyebrow, “I’m standing right here Naru-kun, I heard him. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

 

“Will you teach me and Sakura-chan, Sasuke-kun? I can never get the academy teachers, they’re so old.” Naruto complained. Sasuke just stared, overwhelmed. People usually get annoyed or jealous when he talked about his brother helping him. “U-um, sure, but I thought we were going to play ninja first?” The raven haired mumbled, embarrassed. Both friends gave him a wide smile and Naruto nodded excited. “Alright!” He yelled.

 

They continued playing the whole afternoon and Sasuke didn’t even notice when Itachi walked up behind his mother, watching him play with warmth in his eyes.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby Sasuke was adorable and deserved better >:((. *ahem* Anyway, I don't know exactly how accurate to the timeline this is, but let's be honest this is already partially fanon anyway. Supposedly the kids start academy at 8, but we see Sasuke enter the academy before the massacre which is supposed happen when he's 6-7. I figure I would make the kids start academy at 5 but Sasuke is in a different class because Fugaku had him moved up a class. All three of them are 7 at the moment, so the massacre is coming up (thats definitely not foreshadowing). Sakura did in fact give naruto a cute nick name, fight me about it. Btw my tumblr is the same as my ao3, allmyfriendscallmesatan. hmu we can scream about nart.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke has a Bad Time and Naruto gains some (non-blood related) family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Minor warning for blood/death in this chapter. It's not descriptive but it's definitely there. Credits to Polaris for beta-ing.

The process of befriending Sasuke had taken longer than his friendship with Sakura, but he was incredibly persistent. Because the Uchiha was in a class with the older kids, they couldn’t talk with him nearly as often. Fortunately, the two classes ate lunch together. Naruto wasn’t sure if it was because the raven-haired boy was younger than the rest of his classmates or just his antisocial tendencies that made him sit alone at lunch.    
  
This quickly changed, as the blonde and rosette would eat with him everyday without fail. After class the three would meet up and Sasuke would teach them things he learned in his class. Most of the time Naruto had trouble understanding until Sakura explained it, but he didn’t mind. Naruto-and-Sakura turned into Naruto-Sakura-and-Sasuke faster than anyone could imagine.   
  
To the Uzumaki’s dismay, fuuinjutsu lessons had passed. However, Sakura would drag him to the library and plop down five or so books or scrolls before opening a scroll of her own. She promised him that he wasn’t wasting her time with fuuinjutsu, and that he should always pursue his interests. Her studiousness was very encouraging trait. Naruto’s vocabulary and reading speed shot up at amazing rates and the two had fun watching their sensei try to figure how Naruto was progressing so fast.    
  
Sasuke was much more hands on, to Naruto’s delight. He showed them his favorite training ground, ( _ “Aniki used to take me here all the time, but mother says he’s too busy now.” _ ) then the three of them would practice their aim or chakra controls. That was the Uzumaki’s least favorite. He knew that his friends didn’t think any less of him when he couldn’t get a leaf to stick to his palm right, but it was frustrating!     
  
There was one day when the blonde asked the other two for tips. They were all laying on their backs after running 5 laps around the training grounds and about to start chakra control.   
  
“Hey, do you guys have any idea why chakra control is so hard for me?” Naruto asked.    
Sakura panted for a second, thinking, before answering “Well, I have probably the least amount of chakra between us, but the best control. Going by that you probably have the most chakra! Maybe it’s like when you’re washing spoons, and letting little trickles collect is fine but then when you turn the faucet on harder, suddenly the water goes everywhere.”   
  
“Sakura’s probably right. Itachi-nii says you have to have a lot of chakra to pull off big ninjutsus, so don’t be sad.” Sasuke consoles. Naruto looks at the two in awe. His friends were so smart!   
  
“I wonder if Iruka-sensei has anything that could help.” The blonde wonders. His friends hum in agreement and Naruto pushes himself up. “Alright! I’ll go get some leaves and stones, be right back!” he exclaims, and runs off toward the edge of the training ground.   
  
  


* * *

 

Walking home took longer when there was three people, but no one complained. Naruto and Sakura had adjusted the route so that they first stopped at the Uchiha compound, then the civilian district, before Naruto finally walked back to his lonely apartment. The walk is filled with chatter of their day in class, or something their family was doing. It never failed to fill the orphan’s chest with warmth.

  
Reaching their first stop, the blonde and rosette waved to the Uchiha as he walked through his compound’s gates. “Bye, Sasuke-kun!” Naruto called, Sakura saying her own goodbyes as well. Sasuke just smiled and waved back before running off in the direction of his house.  
  
He was so busy thinking about their revelation over Naruto’s chakra problem and who he could ask for advice that he didn’t notice anything off until a wave of fear hit him like a truck. Sasuke sucked in a breath and looked up suddenly, expecting for someone to be standing near and finding no one. Now that he was looking around he could see all the lights were off in the houses. Strange, considering Sakura always sure they got home around time for dinner, not when everyone would be asleep.   
  
His jogging pace slowed as he considered all this and he rounded the corner. _Oba-san! Oji-san!_ The boys heart raced as he spotted the bodies of the friendly Uchihas. He sprinted through the street to his house.  
  
The fear he felt before was back, paralyzing him. He had to go in there. He had to make sure his family was ok! The fear crawled at his throat and chest as he slid the door open. The sight and smell inside nearly made him puke, bile rising through his throat but Sasuke choked it back down.  
  
His brother was standing there, blood covering his clothes and arms and face and- and father and mother are on the ground. Sasuke let out a slight whimper.  
  
“Aniki, why?” his voice trembled without his consent. The boy nearly fell to his knees from the look his big brother gave him.  
  
“To test my abilities.” Itachi answered. His entire being was void of emotion. It was almost like his brother was dead while still living. Then everything turned red. Red like blood, like the sharingan, like his clan member’s bodies and oh god they’re all _dead_ _it’s all his fault!_  
  
Sasuke _screamed._  
  


* * *

 

Naruto’s ear twitched. He stopped suddenly, so suddenly Sakura kept walking for five seconds before she noticed her friend wasn’t by her side. Turning around, she raised an eyebrow, “Naru-kun? What’s wrong?”   
  
The blonde had gone deadly still and didn’t answer. She almost thought he didn’t hear her until he jolted suddenly. “Sakura-chan! Something's happened to Sasuke-kun. He just screamed and it was so filled with pain Sakura-chan! We have to go back.” Sakura’s little seven year old eyes hardened at the fact that her friend was in pain.   
  
“What are we waiting for?” She responded and broke off running, Naruto following quickly behind. Thank god for Sasuke’s evil stamina exercises. The pair made it back to the Uchiha Compound in record time, not even pausing before dashing through the gates. Both children gasped as they passed body after body. It only fueled them to run faster.   
  
Luckily the two had been to Sasuke’s house once before. They had no time to waste trying to find it. As the large house came into view another gut wrenching scream traveled through the air. Finally, after far too long in their opinion, Naruto and Sakura threw open their friend’s door.   
  
Sasuke was laying on the ground and for a heart stopping second, both children thought the boy had been killed as well. Sakura was the first to notice he was still heaving breaths, although his eyes were glazed over and drool spilled from his mouth. Naruto dropped to his knees and grabbed his friend.   
  
“Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, please you have to be ok. I-I promise you’ll be ok, dattebayo!” The blonde whispered but his friend stayed nonrespondent. Naruto looked to Sakura in distress. “We gotta take him to the hospital right? You said your dad only handles small stuff like cuts.” Sakura was still staring in shock. Unlike her blonde friend she had stopped to take in her surroundings. Sasuke’s parents were on the floor, presumably dead like the rest of the Uchihas.   
  
Shaking herself out of the daze Sakura answered, “Yeah, we definitely need to go to the hospital. I don’t know what happened to Sasuke-kun, but I have a feeling it’s not something my dad could help with by himself.” Naruto nodded to her and put Sasuke onto his back. The blonde was surprisingly strong for a seven year old. The two nodded at each other and began running back, albeit at a slower pace.   
  
The hospital was almost agonizingly far away for a couple of panicked children. However, they got there and Sasuke was immediately taken from Naruto. He let out a strangled sound and reached to pull him back but Sakura grabbed him gently.   
  
“It’ll be ok now, Naru-kun. The nice doctors will help Sasuke-kun. There’s no need to worry.” She murmured into his ear and put her arm around his waist. The boy leaned into the comfort and closed his eyes. He suddenly felt incredibly tired and despite his worry his eyes dropped as leaned into Sakura. As she was tired as well, the girl pulled them over to a chair and sat them down.   
  
The two fell into a fitful sleep against each other.   
  
  


* * *

 

Morning came far too quickly for all three children. Sakura was pleasantly surprised when she woke up with Naruto’s hair tickling her chin. Looking around she could see the hospital had called her parents (who were asleep in some chairs next to her), but they were had chosen to stay here with her instead of taking her home. Sakura really loved her parents.   
  
They were moved into a different room however. The two were laying on a couch- an admittedly very uncomfortable one but at least it wasn’t those plastic chairs- and she only had to look around a bit longer to see Sasuke laying asleep in a bed that was by the center of the room. The only thing that kept the girl from jumping up immediately was Naruto’s body snuggled against her own. Speaking of which, the boy was actually blinking his eyes open as well.    
  
“Ow, my neck…” Naruto grumbled. “Sakura-chan? Where- wait! Sasuke-kun!” The blonde perked his head up as memories from the previous night came back to him. Sakura put a finger in front of her mouth to quiet him then pointed at the hospital bed. She felt Naruto relax against her after seeing Sasuke.   
  
“The hospital knows me because of my dad, I think they called my parents when we fell asleep. They moved us into Sasuke-kun’s room instead of taking us home.” The girl explained in a whisper. She wasn’t sure how easily her hurt friend would wake up and she assumed he needed the rest. Naruto let out a breath and nodded, then moved quietly off of her to walk over to their injured friend’s bed.   
  
It was odd watching the blonde act so quiet. There were times when things were quiet between the three of them, but this silence felt suffocating. Mentally shaking off the uncomfortable thoughts, she stood up as well. The raven-haired boy looked peaceful, thank goodness. His face would scrunch up occasionally, but Naruto would squeeze his hand and the wrinkles would disappear.   
  
The two watched their friend- their okay, alive,  _ breathing _ friend- until finally his eyes fluttered open as well. His eyes were glazed over as if unseeing and he threw himself into sitting position. She was quick to whisper comforts into his ear.   
  
“You’re not there anymore, Sasuke-kun. We came back and brought you to the hospital.”  Sasuke visibly got less tense as he realised where he was. She pulled back Naruto a bit, giving him some space, but the injured boy pulled the blonde back closer. Sakura let out a noise of apology and his eyes told him it was ok.   
  
“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Sasuke rasped. His throat was still rough from how much he screamed last night. The girl’s eyes widened. “You’re sorry? Sasuke-kun, we’re the ones who are sorry! No one should ever see something like that, ever.” She stated and Naruto nodded hard next to her. All three of them sat in silence for a moment before the blonde took in a shaky breath.   
  
“Hey, Sasuke-kun?” He asked. The boy was uncharacteristically nervous so instead of his usual grunt, Sasuke hummed in response. “I know this… might seem weird, but I was thinkin’ since I’ve never had family and now your family is… um, sorry, but I was thinking you could call me Naruto-nii?” Naruto closed his eyes and shook at the silence that followed, “I-I mean you don’t have to! It’s just that you and Sakura-chan are the closed thing I have to family and I almost lost you…”   
  
Naruto peeked an eye open to see Sakura with tears in her eyes and Sasuke with red cheeks. The rosette was the first to be able to speak. “Of course! In that case, you guys can call me Sakura-nee!” Her words were confident and the blonde lost his nervousness from before. A smile widened on his face instead. The two looked at Sasuke.   
  
“Naruto-nii-chan, Sakura-nee-chan…” He said, trying out the names. He blushed harder when he looked up and saw his friends staring at him. “I guess I have no choice other than to be Sasuke-nii.” The boy said. Naruto had to refrain from tackling Sasuke with a hug. Instead he opened his arms as an invitation. Sakura took it first, then held out an arm as well. Sasuke leaned into it, unable to move his arms to wrap them around his friends.   
  
The boy would deny it if asked, but his eyes blurred up as he leaned into the warmth of his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I rewrote the Massacre scenes so many times and I'm still not happy with them... s i g h. I'm going to have to do a time skip because no one wants to read 50 chapters on baby team 7's adventures as pre-genin. I am thinking about writing either small snippits of the five years between the massacre and the genin exam at the start of next chapter, or writing drabbles on a separate story. I already have a couple of things in mind for the drabbles, but comment which you guys would prefer.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto and co. become genin and he even gets a handy new jutsu along the way. Kakashi regrets his life decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here take this /monster/ chapter. Seriously this is almost longer than the three other chapters combined. I've decided to write a separate story in the series for the drabbles, so I can organize them more clearly. Lastly thanks so much for 100 kudos, it may seem small to some people but I seriously didn't expect so many people to like this.  
> Credit to Polaris for beta-ing.

**Five Years Later**

 

“Naruto-nii-chan, I love you, but we are  _ not _ having ramen for dinner again.” Sakura states and Naruto whines.

 

“But Sakura-nee-chaaan-” His whining is cut off by Sasuke slapping a hand over his mouth.

 

“Both of you shut up. It’s my choice for dinner anyways.” He grumbles. The three of them were now twelve and could probably pass as one person. They were around eight when the Harunos first proposed a sleepover. Naruto, of course, agreed wholeheartedly, and after a bit of convincing Sasuke accepted too. The sleepovers were weekly now and they cycled through each kid’s house, even if the Uzumaki practically lived in the Uchiha district with Sasuke ( _ “It’s for variety!” _ ).

 

Right now they were at the Uchiha compound. Sasuke no longer lived in his old house, instead he had moved his stuff into a smaller townhouse on the other side of the district. The last Uchiha was definitely not ok, don’t get the wrong idea. He eyes still glazed over from time to time, and he might still be wary of the color red even if he denied it. However, his friends practically never left his side, so he always came back to reality from the squeeze of a warm hand or soft familiar whispers. It hurt to imagine what life would be like if all Sasuke had was his own mind to keep him company.

 

“Hey, you guys think I’ll be able to pass the genin exams right?” Naruto asked. He shifted back and forth a bit, a nervous habit he had developed. Sakura stared back at him “Of course you will. You found that seal in the library, right? The one that Uzushio used to use with kids that had a hard time controlling their chakra.”

 

Naruto had, in fact, found a seal just like that. He only been able to practice writing it, but was planning on using it during the exams to make a successful bunshin. Apparently, bad chakra control had been common in Uzushio because of their larger than average reserves. The village had come up with many chakra control exercises that helped. Unfortunately, the book hadn’t listed any of said exercises.

 

“Sakura-nee’s right. You’ve always been great with seals so you’ll be fine.” Sasuke reassured. “Now, Nee-chan help me cut the tomatoes. I don’t trust Nii-chan with the knife after last time.” He ignored Naruto’s complaints and walked towards the kitchen, Sakura following behind. 

 

At first the blonde had been put down by the friendly teasing, but after years of his friends glaring at anyone who even looked at him funny as they walked down the street, he had come to learn they didn’t mean it like the civilians meant it. Naruto smiled to himself and got up too.

 

“Hey! You need me for the ingredients anyway, I know you didn’t forget.” He called out to them while taking out a scroll. Sasuke wasn’t lying when he said Naruto was great with seals. The boy took to the art like a fish took to water. He had learned the hard way that whenever he was experimenting with an explosion seal, he should do it outside.

 

Naruto opened the scroll and touched a finger to the seal inside. Bags of fresh vegetables, fruit, and other necessities popped out and he put them on his arm, running to the kitchen. The well oiled machine they had become started to make dinner, Naruto washing the vegetables, Sakura cutting them, and Sasuke arranging them into a salad.

 

The Uzumaki’s worries about the next day faded away as he fell into the routine and the trio began to chatter. Tomorrow would be great!

 

* * *

 

Tomorrow turned out to not be great. Naruto looked in dismay at the faulty bunshin laying beside him, ignoring the disappointment he knew was in his sensei’s eyes.

 

“I’m sorry, Naruto-kun, but you have not passed.” Iruka spoke as gently as possible. The blonde refused to give in. “No! Just give me one more chance! I can do it, I’m just not used to the seal, I swear.” Iruka sighed and shook his head, “No, Naruto. I have to move on. Go back up to your seat.” His voice was firmer this time and Naruto knew he couldn’t fight back.

 

Sakura and Sasuke had already gone before him. They had all really expected him to pass! The failed boy flopped into his seat in between them. “It’s my fault… I should have practiced with the seal first. I underestimated how much it would help me and used too little chakra, if you can believe that.” He whispered to his friends. Sakura rubbed his back and Sasuke patted his shoulder, ignoring the looks from his female classmates.

 

The academy had moved him into his friend’s class after the Massacre. Something about being around kids his own age or something. In any case, he was far too used to the little club that had formed around him. The Uchiha was pretty sure if he wasn’t around Sakura all the time she would have gotten jumped by now.

 

“It’s fine, Naruto-nii. You heard Sensei, he only didn’t let you try again because he had to move on. If you ask again after class he’ll probably let you try.” The rosette offered. Naruto brightened at her words and nodded. Around them kids started to move to pack up and Iruka reminded them “Team assignments are tomorrow at 7 am! Don’t forget. Everyone is dismissed.”

 

His words triggered the shuffling to stop and everyone got up and left. The trio got up, some slower than others, and walked out of the building. They were by the swing, watching kids show their parents the shiny new hitai-ates they had earned when a man walked up to them.

 

“I see you didn’t pass, Naruto-kun. I heard this was your best attempt yet! However, I have a special test that can pass you.” The man, who they now recognized as Mizuki, claimed. The three were sceptical to say the very least. Sasuke opened his mouth to tell the guy to piss off but Naruto spoke first.

 

“I’ve never heard of another test, what do I have to do?” His friends stared in disbelief before they saw a glint in his eye.

 

The boy was scheming. Wonderful.

 

Mizuki was… less observational. “It’s a test of true ninja skills!” The guy peered around and continued in a hushed voice, “You must sneak into the Hokage’s office, take the forbidden scroll, and bring it to me at the edge of town away from the gates.” Naruto looked Mizuki with a mixture of excitement and amusion on his face.

 

“Sneaking into Jiji’s office is easy, but isn’t taking a  _ forbidden _ scroll, I don’t know, forbidden?” Sasuke had to hold back a smirk when the man’s eyebrow twitched. He had obviously expected Naruto “Dead Last” Uzumaki to do anything he said to graduate. Of course, the Uzumaki was definitely not actually the dead last. The only reason Naruto continued to just barely pass tests he could now pass with ease was because the three wanted to be on the same genin team. Sasuke and Sakura were already the top of the class, so Naruto continued to play his role as the bottom.

 

“We’re not  _ really  _ stealing it Naruto-kun. The scroll will be returned after the test.” Mizuki hissed with a strained smile. The blonde grinned and agreed to meet him in the forest right outside the western side of town at nightfall, and the trio walked away. They walked in silence for a solid thirty second before either of them asked when Sakura broke.

 

“Naruto-nii… why didn’t you just say no to Mizuki-sensei. It’s obviously a trap.” Sasuke “Hn’d” in agreement. Naruto smirked and made a grand gesture.

 

“Well, my curious friend, I’m so glad you asked!” Sasuke rolled his eyes at his friends theatrics. “I want to learn Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which just happens to be in the scroll in Jiji’s office. This is the perfect excuse for me to learn it!” The boy may not be the demon people say he is, but he sure as hell is as mischievous as one. Sakura just shook her head in amusement at her friend.

 

Naruto explained the plan to them at their training ground while they waited for night time. The plan was simple, before getting the scroll Naruto would put a simple one-person transportation seal on the forest ground. Sakura and Sasuke would mask their chakra to the best of their abilities and hide while Naruto got the scroll. Once he got it he would teleport back to save time so he could learn to make a Kage Bunshin. Then when Mizuki showed up the three (plus however kage bunshins Naruto makes) would beat him up and turn him in!

 

The bookworm of the group was the first to interject and say the plan was far too simple. Sasuke shook his head, “If the situation was different, maybe, but in this case it will be three or more against one. Even though Mizuki is a chūnin, we’ll come out on top.” Sakura looked more content but he could tell she was still nervous. Naruto threw an arm around her shoulder.

 

“It’ll be fine Sakura-nee-chan! Believe it!” The blonde’s optimism was infectious, making her smile. Even Sasuke’s lip curled up a bit around the edges.

 

* * *

 

It took the three a bit to get to the far side of town and then sneak out in broad daylight. Luckily, Naruto was quick to teach them his ways of sneaking around the shadows that seemed to follow them when they first became friends. Apparently the shadows didn’t appreciate the boy's pranks on the village. In any case the skills were good to have and payed off. Their aspiring seal master was setting up the transportation seal while Sasuke and Sakura found a place to hide. The plan couldn’t take place too far outside the village, as Naruto’s seal could only reach so far.

 

“Alright! The seal's all set up. I can’t transport us back into the village with it ‘cause it can only be used once. See ya soon!” The blonde didn’t bother waiting for his friends to respond before running in the opposite direction.

 

The sun was setting as Naruto reached the Hokage Tower, making it easier for him to slip into the window unnoticed. He had already seen the scroll a couple of times, cutting down on anytime he would of spent finding it. He sensed guards right outside the door, apparently they didn’t expect pre-genin to be sneaking into the Hokage’s Office through the window. He wasn’t trying very hard to mask his chakra so he expected them to sense him but they didn’t.

 

_ Well, it’s like that saying Sakura-nee once said. Something about horses and mouths... I think?  _ He thought before activating the seal drawn on his arm. He popped into existence back at the forest and waved to where his friends were hiding before plopping down. The seal rolled open easily but  _ man _ was that thing big. Naruto braced himself for a lot of searching but when he looked down the jutsu was the first one written.

 

_ I am just  _ full  _ of luck today… it’s getting to be suspicious.  _ Nothing like a healthy bit of paranoia! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was surprisingly easy. It worked like a normal Bunshin but instead of a small section of chakra filtering out, your chakra was split into halves. Or fourths, or fifths… well you get the idea. The jutsu had been made forbidden and not reached to students because of its heavy chakra usage. To Naruto, however, “heavy chakra usage” was basically an invitation.

 

The Uzumaki was about to test it out when a blur passed over head and landed on a nearby branch. Looks like Mizuki had arrived. “Very good, Naruto-kun! Now hand over the scroll.” His voice was strained and he kept looking around nervously. He wasn’t the most subtle man in the world, was he?

 

“Sensei? I thought you said we were going to return it?” Naruto asked in an obnoxiously innocent voice. He watched in amusement as the man’s jaw tightened. “You stupid brat! No wonder everyone calls you a demon, you have the intelligence of an animal!” Naruto didn’t really think the insult made much sense and said as much. Mizuki laughed cruelly, “It’s a secret to tell you this, but you obviously deserve to hear it. You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune! You’re responsible for the deaths of hundreds!”

 

Pieces clicked together in the Uzumaki’s head. Scraps of knowledge he’d gotten from books and class like the fact that an Uzumaki’s abnormally large chakra reserves were good for holding tailed beasts, the insults that would get scribbled on his apartment walls, and the fact that the Kyuubi had been “sealed” away. Naruto had always had his suspicions of course, but this confirmed them.

 

“Last time I checked the Kyuubi no Kitsune was a giant monster fox that got sealed away, not a twelve year old boy. You understand my hesitance to believe you, right?” He almost sounded teasing as he said it. Apparently, Mizuki was fed up with talking because he pulled out a giant shuriken and hurled it at the boy with a yell.

Naruto was about to dodge the shuriken flying his way when a body threw itself in front of him. He lept backwards with a yelp. The man- _Iruka_ , he realized- coughed and splattered blood across the ground.

 

“Naruto-kun…” Iruka ground out, “...what is going on here?” The blonde’s eyes widened and he flashed a symbol towards his friends. Immediately a stream of fire attacked the branch Mizuki had been standing on, making him fall back with a strangled yell. Sakura followed the fire with a small D-Rank suiton jutsu to make sure they didn’t set the whole forest on fire. Naruto formed the hand sign for his newly learnt jutsu, making five new Narutos to jump the traitor. The man had tried to run away but was blocked by Sasuke. Once the clones were piling on top of him, Sasuke ran back to where his friends had gathered around their sensei.

 

“Iruka-sensei! I’m so sorry… we were going to return the scroll after we had taken down Mizuki-sensei, I swear!” Naruto explained. He had run over to the man immediately when he saw the traitor had gone down. Sakura was already looking at the wound on his back. She still didn’t have the reserves to actually heal the wound but she could at least look it over. 

 

“Sensei, I’m going to remove the shuriken now. Don’t worry losing blood, I brought bandages for if this idiot got hurt.” The girl murmured in her _“I may be twelve but I’m very smart about_  injuries _because I devote myself to the study”_ voice. Naruto had been on the receiving end of that voice a number of times. Iruka gave a weak nod and she wrenched the weapon out as gently she could. Blood flowed out and the injured man winced.

 

“Sorry, sorry.” She whispered and taped the bandages down. “There, now we just have to get you to the hospital and the doctors can close up the wound.” Sakura assured and nudged him up. He stood up and took the girl's arm from his waist.

 

“It’s ok, Sakura-chan. I can walk there on my own.” He tried to reassured her. The trio was not convinced and Naruto made another clone, the others having been dispelled after Mizuki fell unconscious. 

 

“Me and my clone will support you on the walk home! It’s no problem, it’s our fault you got hurt anyway.” The blonde reassured. Iruka still looked ready to argue but let the matter drop and slumped against Naruto’s shoulder. He felt the eyes of Sasuke and Sakura on him and looked back at them curiously. Sakura tapped a finger to her hitai-ate and Sasuke was glaring at him as if saying  _ I dare you not to pass Naruto. Try me. _ So, understandably the man stopped walking, alerting Naruto. 

 

“Ne, Naruto-kun, I have something to give you. I think you earned it.” Iruka spoke warmly. The boy looked at him curiously and his teacher reached into a pouch behind him, pulling out a hitai-ate. Naruto’s eyes widened at the item.

 

“Really? You’re gonna let me pass?!” He asked, practically bouncing up and down. Iruka looked back at the kids behind them.

 

“Yes, really. Plus, your friends would most likely kill me if I didn’t.”

 

“Ah, yeah probably. We have plans to be on the same genin team after all!” Naruto exclaimed and gently took the hitai-ate, tying it around his forehead. Then they continued walking to the hospital.

 

It took all of them 10 minutes before they realized they forgot Muzuki’s body.

 

* * *

 

At 6:00 AM an alarm clock blared. Three identical groans came from a pile of blankets... and then a pale hand punched the clock across the room.

 

A peaceful silence fell back over the bedroom before there was a shriek.

 

“Genin team placements!”

 

Oh. Right.

 

The three had slept at Sakura’s house after her parents invited the her friends in for a celebratory dinner, and the tired boys had agreed readily. Even if the three were tired enough to go to sleep right after the meal, they had ended up spending most of the night whispering to each other. They were finally genin! It was something all three kids had been waiting anticipating for a long time.

 

Sakura woke the easiest and let the boys stay covered in the blanket for now. After years of sleepovers they had learned to sleep comfortably together in only one bed. She went through her closet and grabbed her usual red dress and black under clothes to change into. If anyone was watching they would be surprised to see the girl change in the same room as the boys. See, Sakura wasn’t embarrassed. She knew her boys would never try anything on her and she would never try anything on her boys, even as their brains became more riddled with hormones. Naruto in particular had never been a very modest child.

 

She was in the process of brushing her face and teeth when the two sleepy boys began stumbling around the room.  _ 6:15, only took them 15 minutes to get up. Must be excited… _ She thought to herself and gave a small smile. Naruto had been the one to shriek when the alarm went off, but he probably got hushed by Sasuke and pulled right back into the bed. The blonde was now rushing to get his morning routine done, which was unsurprisingly short. 

 

Sakura hummed, “Calm down, Nii-chan. It’s still only 6:15, you managed to remember somewhere in that brain we had something important to do.” She teased. Naruto stopped halfway through pulling a shirt over his head, making the girl giggle. Sasuke peered open an eye and smirked after seeing the boy as well. Then he went right back to ambling around the bathroom with closed eyes. The two were definitely not morning people.

 

“I’m gonna head down and start breakfast while you two finish up. My parents will sleep in a little longer than usual because they got back from a business trip the other night. Pancakes alright with you?”

 

Both the sleepy boys nodded, Naruto perking up a bit at the mention of pancakes, and she started down the stairs. Sakura pulled out the pancake mix and stirred it ready before pouring them onto the pan. After making the third batch (Naruto ate a lot), Sasuke and Naruto fumbled down the stairs looking far more ready to face the world. She nodded to each of them and put the last of the pancakes the plate she had been piling them on.

 

After five minutes of eating in silence Sakura broke the silence. “So, are we going to address the whole ‘Kyuubi jinchuuriki’ thing or leave it be? I’m totally fine with letting it be, but I figured i would ask.” She prompted. Naruto didn’t look surprised she was asking.

 

“Well, I had kind of been suspecting I was a jinchuuriki of some sort.” His mouth was full of pancake as he replied but one look at his friend’s glares made him swallow hurriedly. “Sorry, anyway I would’ve told you if I was sure but I wasn’t. Mizuki’s words confirmed what I thought.”

 

“It explains your chakra reserves,” Sasuke pointed out after swallowing his own pancake “Not only do you come from a clan known for their large chakra reserves, but the Kyuubi also has the most chakra as the oldest.” The others stared at him confused and Sasuke blinked. “What?” He grumbled.

 

“Sorry, I just didn’t expect someone who slept through our history lessons- yes, I saw you- to know that much about the Kyuubi.” Sakura explained. He really wasn’t that sneaky about the whole thing, but he still passed so she never really bothered him about it.

 

“It’s because I’m an Uchiha. We got special lessons on the bijuu when we were kids. The Uchiha were in charge of controlling them if anything happened because the Sharingan can control them.” Sasuke shifted as his friends continued the stare, Naruto even looking a bit uncomfortable. “That doesn’t mean I can control jinchuuriki, idiot. Don’t get any stupid ideas.” He assured quickly. The jinchuuriki’s expression settled in a smile.

 

“Of course you wouldn’t! Now we should get going, ne?” A glance at the clock told them it was now 6:50. The trio stood up, bringing their dishes to the sink and slipping out the door. The walk to the academy was filled with a comfortable silence, and they filed into their usual spots. Sasuke would stand to the left of Naruto, brushing up against his shoulder and Sakura stood to his right holding his hand.

 

The Uchiha and her had become quick to make the formation after seeing the amount of glares the blonde had thrown his way. Sakura didn’t know if she should feel better or worse now that she knew the reason for the village’s hatred. On one hand, at least the hate wasn’t unfounded. At least they weren’t all targeting the same orphan boy as some sort of scapegoat. On the other, how could they just think he was the same as that fox! Why couldn’t they see how smart and kind the boy really was… her mind flashed to a dirty alleyway, the glint of a bottle and the copper smell of blood and realized they never gave themselves the chance too.

 

The trio began to hear more and more chatter as they approached the school and went inside of their classroom. She overheard a hopeful girl’s wish to be on _ “Sasuke-kuuuun~” _ ’s team. Unfortunately for the fangirl, her and her boys had managed to play right into the system’s hand. That and the fact that Iruka was probably worried he would get skinned alive if he even tried to put them on different teams. They weren’t even that threatening! Well, that wasn’t exactly true, Sasuke could be alarmingly dark at times, but he mostly kept it under control.

 

There were also some whispers about Naruto but their Uchiha shut them up with a Look before she could. Finally, Iruka entered the classroom and only had to wait one second before the classroom quieted down. The man could be very scary when made angry.

 

“Alright class, as you all know today you will be put into your genin teams.” He allowed the class to let out a couple whoops and hollers before continuing, “There will be three people to a group. First I will tell you your team number, then the people placed into that team, then finally your jounin instructor. Now, let’s begin.”

 

Sakura tuned out and stared at her classmates while she waited for her team to be called. It would be interesting to see who they assigned to the last Uchiha and the village’s jinchuuriki… 

 

“Next is Team Seven with Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Your jounin instructor is Hatake Kakashi and will meet you in this classroom, so stay here please.” Naruto let out a cheer, Sakura smiling and joining him. Sasuke only smiled a little, but she could tell he was cheering on the inside. The smile turned to a smirk as she heard a couple of females in the room groan. Surprisingly, one of those people was not Yamanaka Ino, but then again she was too smart to think Sasuke would be placed with anyone else. Sakura and her were almost best friends, once upon a time, but she met Naruto at the beginning of their relationship and simply didn’t see the other girl as much. It wasn’t like she disliked the her, and she didn’t think Ino disliked her either. If anything the platinum blonde harbored a bit of jealousy and nothing more.

 

“Team Eight. Hyuuga Hinata, Kiba Inuzuka, and Aburame Shino. Your jounin instructor is Yuuhi Kurenai who you will meet in class 1-C. You may leave now or wait for all teams to be announced.” 

 

_ A Hyuuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame, huh? _ Sakura turned to Sasuke and mouthed  _ “Tracking team?” _ The boy shrugged and mouthed back  _ “Most likely.” _

 

“Team Ten is Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji. Your jounin instructor is Sarutobi Asuma and you will meet in class 1-A. You can stay or leave now.” This team was as unsurprising as Team Seven’s placement. Even without knowing Ino personally Sakura knew about Ino-Shika-Cho’s history. The clan heads, and in this case heirs, always teamed up because of how well their bloodlines worked with one another. A look at where Ino and Shikamaru were sitting told her that even if she had been anticipating it the Yamanaka didn’t particularly want to be on a team with the boy next to her. Or maybe the annoyance was only a playful thing?

 

In any case it seemed Iruka was finished announcing the groups and he dismissed the groups to go to their meeting place. Their sensei glanced at them and grimaced.

 

“Sorry if your new sensei is late. Hatake Kakashi is… well how do I explain this… he’s a bit, relaxed, when it comes to punctuality.” He explained while packing up. “I have to leave now however, so I’ll be seeing you.” The man smiled and pulled open the classroom door.

 

“Bye sensei! Don’t forget you promised me ramen!” Naruto exclaimed while waving enthusiastically. Sakura didn’t know when her friend had managed to rope the poor guy into buying him ramen, but she definitely believed it. The girl said and waved a good bye of her own alongside Sasuke. They watched the door shut and there was silence for one tick of the clock, two, thre-

 

“So what now?” The Uzumaki questioned, jumping up from his seat. Sakura sighed, she loved the boy but he had not one ounce of patience in him. Maybe 5 or 6 ounces from the meditating she had them practice-  _ oh, meditating! _

 

“Well, if what Iruka-sensei was telling the truth we may be here longer than we expected. You could try meditating, or you could read a book, I brought a couple just in case, or we cou-”

 

“I’m gonna put a seal in front of the door cover him in glitter!” Naruto yelled and then flinched looking at Sakura. The girl stood up and flicked him on the forehead, enough chakra channeled to make it hurt more than it usually would but not enough to leave a bruise. Sasuke snickered at the boys whining.

 

“I’ve told you before it’s rude to interrupt, Naruto-nii,” She chastised “and I don’t really care what you do to our new sensei as long as no one is seriously hurt if it’ll distract you.” Naruto’s eyes lit up and he grabbed his brush and ran to the door. The girl turned back to Sasuke and sighed.

 

“Sometimes I feel more like a mom than a sister.” She muttered loud enough for the Uchiha to hear. “If he won’t meditate, I will. Would you mind making sure our wonderful adopted brother doesn’t blow anything up?” Sakura asked wearily. When Sasuke made a noise of agreement she sat down on the desk and formed the snake sign in front of her. Naruto’s happy humming turned into white noise as she focused on the chakra running through her body. 

 

Sakura lost track of time as she listened to the chakra move through the grass outside the window but eventually she felt a barely masked presence approach the academy. Blinking her eyes open she saw Naruto sitting back in his seat and chatting with Sasuke. The girl stretched to signify she was finished.

 

“He’s approaching the academy. It was easy to feel him since he’s a jounin who was barely bothering to mask his chakra.” She reported. Their seal expert could hardly contain his joy at the words.

 

“Took him long enough.” Sasuke complained, “It’s been an hour and a half.”  _ Wow, their sensei was really lazy _ . Naruto interrupted his friends by hushing them, “He’s right outside the door, watch!” He whisper yelled. Part of Sakura’s brain hoped a jounin would be able to sense the Uzumaki’s seal. However another part argued that she knew how sneaky he could be with those seals from experience. She was inclined to listen to the latter part a bit more. 

 

And apparently her latter part had also been on the right path.

 

Naruto cackled when Hatake Kakashi walked in only to be hit in the face with an explosion of pink glitter. One of the blondes favorite pastimes was customizing the explosion seal to be as prank-worthy as possible. Sakura barked out a laugh at the man’s widened eyes ( _ eye? _ ) and Sasuke sniggered as well.

 

“How do I put this… my first impression of you is- I hate you.”

 

“So do most people, join the club!”

 

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

 

“Can’t hate me more than I already hate myself.”

 

Sakura was afraid that if their sensei’s eye got any wider it would pop out. Then her boy’s words registered and she cuffed them both on the back of the head. “What have I said about self-deprecating jokes! You guys make me sound more like a mom every time you open your mouths, I swear.” At least Naruto had the sense to look sheepish.

 

“Whatever. Meet me on the roof in five minutes.” Kakashi stated through closed teeth. Well, she assumed they were closed, she couldn’t actually see his mouth. Sakura wished she had practiced wall climbing but when she tried during their training but Naruto had stopped her ( _ “We should wait until there’s an adult!” “Naruto-nii, we know how to land if we mess up.” “But-but-” “Ok! We’ll wait until we have our jounin sensei with us.” _ ). Instead the girl channeled chakra to her legs and arms then grabbed her boys.

 

Naruto let out an unmanly squeak but Sasuke managed to only grunt. Holding the two like a sacks of potatoes, Sakura leaped out of the classroom and up the stairs.

 

Kakashi was already at the top when she made it there- figures- and she dropped her friends to the ground with a huff. Sakura glared at her legs  _ three minutes! I could’ve made it in two without the extra weight… I’ll have to keep training of course. _ By the time the three of them had become around ten Sakura had started to specialize her routine around raw strength and control. She was still her strongest when she used chakra enhanced punches and kicks, but she practiced without chakra as well. If she wanted to be a front line medic to protect her boys then she would need to protect herself as well! (The girl may have also started worshipping Senju Tsunade, but that was beside the point.)

 

“Geez, Sakura-nee, a warning would have been great.” Sasuke grumbled as he pushed himself up. “You didn’t have to push yourself, me and Nii-chan could have run up too.” Sakura rolled her eyes at the Uchiha’s indirect concern.

 

“I’m fine Sasuke-nii, it’s good training.” She assured the both of them, knowing Naruto was no doubt feeling the same way. “Now, I think we have a jounin waiting on us.” The rosette nodded her head to the man sitting on a railing with a raised eyebrow.

 

“You three are just full of surprises, huh? Pinky was right, come sit.” Sakura did her damn best not to bristle at the nickname. Naruto was the first to bounce over closer to the wall and sit down, his friends following close behind him. They sat the same order they walked everywhere Sasuke, Naruto, than Sakura.  _ Habit _ , She supposed.

 

“Well then, let's introduce ourselves, ne? Likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, you get the idea.” The man (who was really hard to take seriously when he was covered in glitter) suggested after they had settled. Sakura, curious to find more about Kakashi, asked him to go first. “Maa, me? My name’s Hatake Kakashi. I don’t feel like telling you my likes and dislikes. A dream… never thought about it really. As for my hobbies I have many, but you wouldn’t find them interesting.” 

 

_ So all he really told us was his name… I see how it is.  _ Sakura thought annoyed. Before the girl could decide if she was going to give their new sensei a taste if his own medicine, he pointed at her. “You, Pinky, go first. We’ll move down the line after.”  _ Fine… _

 

“My name is Haruno Sakura, I like my adopted brothers Naruto-nii and Sasuke-nii and the library. My dislikes are bullies and Sasuke-nii’s stamina exercises,” She glared at said boy when he smirked, “My hobbies are reading and… well is meditating really a hobby? It’s a part of training which could be considered a hobby so maybe… and my dream is to become the best front line medic to ever live so that I can protect my precious people!” She was satisfied at the interested look her new sensei sent her way.

 

“I’m next! My name is Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! I like my adopted siblings Sakura-nee and Sasuke-nii, ramen, and learning how to make different seals! I dislike bullies and traitors. Oh, and also chakra control exercises even though I found a seal that can help me channel my chakra for the really particular things! My hobbies are playing pranks to test out my seals and training with my siblings. My dream  _ was _ to be the Hokage, but one say Sakura-nee told me about all the paperwork and then Sasuke-nii told me about all the politics so I decided I would become the strongest so I can protect my precious people. Just like Sakura-nee! Except I wouldn’t make a very good medic.”

 

Kakashi gave the talkative boy an amused look “I needed an introduction, Naruto-kun, not your life story.” Naruto gave a quick apology. “Now then, Broody?” Kakashi prompted.

 

“My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like my adopted siblings, I won’t bother repeating their names, and tomatoes. I dislike fangirls, traitors, and bullies. My hobbies are training and… hanging out with my siblings, I guess. My dream is to rebuild my clan and avenge my family...” Sasuke cast a look at his friends, “...but to keep my precious people safe while doing so.”

 

Sakura was incredibly pleased with Kakashi’s expression.

 

“Well… you’re all very interesting. You already know you’re strengths and weaknesses it seems, which is good. However, you’re not quite genin yet!” His eye stretched into a smile when Naruto sputtered. “You still have to pass my test, a survival training of sort.” All of a sudden, their sensei’s face grew serious and the air seemed to turn cold “There’s something you weren’t made aware of. Out of all 27 of you graduates, only 9 of you will pass.” He paused and looked at their surprised, but not disenchanted, faces before he continued, “On that happy note, I will be taking my leave! Meet me at Training Ground Three at 07:00. Don’t be late.” He turned around and paused on last time “Oh, and don’t bother eating breakfast. You’ll just throw it back up.” Then their sensei sailed off the roof, landing on another.

  
_ Wonderful,  _ Sakura thought sarcastically,  _ He’s as crazy as the rest of us. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Sakura gets a really long POV segment here because I couldn't find a good place to break and/or change POV. But who doesn't love some Sakura?? I know my lesbian ass loves Sakura.
> 
> I had to figure out some way for Naruto to get Kage Bunshin because it's kind of,,, his thing. So this chapter turned out longer than it should have. Also! I didn't forget the fact that this story started out as "Naruto learns seals wowie" I just got distracted by ~friendship~. I blame the Uchihas (they're easy to blame, ok?)
> 
> Next chapter is the Bell Test so stay tuned!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! As the tags say this is my first fan fiction I've ever published, so I'm a bit nervous. However I'm open to and appreciate any and all feedback readers would like to give. Also, yes another fix-it fic. I know, I know, but I couldn't help it and I'm a sucker for NaruSasuSaku. About Naruto's verbal tic. I decided to add it in but he's only going to use it when he gets really nervous or overwhelmed with emotion. I have a feeling I would forget to put it in a lot if I tried to use it as much as he actually does. (Title from House of Memories by Panic! At The Disco)
> 
> Thanks for reading~!


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